Brunner-Winkle Bird
Bird A of 1929 fitted with Curtiss OX-5 engine preserved at the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum near St Louis, Missouri
Role air-taxi/joyrider
National origin United States
Manufacturer Brunner-Winkle
First flight September 1928
Status some aircraft still flying and on display in museums
Primary user private flyers and barnstorming
Number built ca. 240

The Brunner-Winkle Bird was a three-seat taxi and joy-riding aircraft produced in the US from 1928 to 1931.

Design and operation

The Model A version was powered by the ubiquitous Curtiss OX-5, and featured a welded steel-tube truss fuselage with metal and fabric skinning. The wings, constructed of Spruce and plywood were also covered with metal and fabric skinning. The Model A had a reasonable performance for an OX-5 powered aircraft. The Model A's ease of handling led to its entry into the 1929 Guggenheim Safety Airplane contest, where it was awarded the highest ratings for a standard production aircraft.[1]

The Model A was awarded Group 2 approval no 2-33 in January 1929 for the first nine aircraft serial no. 1000 to 1008. Aircraft serial no. 1009 upwards were manufactured under Air Transport Certificate no. 101.[2][1]

The Model B followed on from the initial Bird design and was fitted with the uncowled Kinner radial engine. Production aircraft were designated BK.[1]

Variants

Data from: aerofiles.com[3]

Bird BK of 1930 with Kinner K-5 engine preserved at the Yanks Air Museum at Chino, California
Model A
original production version with Curtiss OX-5 engine (ca. 80 built)
Model AT
version with Milwaukee Tank engine (2 converted from Model A)
Model B
version with Kinner K-5 engine (1 prototype)
Model BK
production version of Model B (84 built)
Model C
version with Wright J-5 engine (1 built)
Model CC
version with Curtiss R-600 Challenger engine (1 built)
Model CJ
version with Jacobs LA-1 engine (6 built)
Model CK
version with Kinner B-5 engine (50 built)
Model RK
export version of Model CK (1 built)
Model E
4-5 seat version with enclosed cabin and Kinner B-5 engine (1 built)
Model F
version with Packard DR-980 (1 built)

Specifications (Bird Model A)

Data from U.S. civil aircraft series:Vol.2 [2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 2 passengers
  • Length: 22 ft 3 in (6.78 m)
  • Wingspan: 34 ft 00 in (10.36 m)
  • Height: 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m)
  • Wing area: 266 sq ft (24.7 m2)
  • Empty weight: 1,315 lb (596 kg)
  • Gross weight: 2,150 lb (975 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss OX-5 V-8 water-cooled piston engine, 90 hp (67 kW)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed wooden fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 105 mph (169 km/h, 91 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 88 mph (142 km/h, 76 kn)
  • Range: 450 mi (720 km, 390 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 12,500 ft (3,800 m)
  • Rate of climb: 520 ft/min (2.6 m/s)

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

(Partial listing, only covers most numerous types)

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 John, Talmage. "The Brunner Winkle Bird at the Cradle of Aviation Museum". www.cradleofaviation.org. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  2. 1 2 Juptner, Joseph J. (1 May 1993). U.S. civil aircraft series:Vol.2. TAB AERO. p. 9. ISBN 978-0830643677.
  3. ↑ "Aircraft Ba-Bl". aerofiles.com. Retrieved 2008-10-19.

Bibliography

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